Last updated: October 6, 2023
Article
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve First to Reclaim Wells in New NPS Initiative
NPS Photo/ Eric Bruseth
In many national parks, oil and gas technicians are discovering thousands of abandoned and orphaned wells from early exploration. Crews at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve have already reclaimed two of nine well sites at the Barataria Preserve, the first such projects to use funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The work can be adventuresome according to Eric Bruseth, a National Park Service petroleum engineer. His crew did see native wildlife in the preserve, including alligators. “We stayed in the boat for the most part,” Bruseth said. “If there was a threat, we had aluminum poles to pull in our crew. Alligators are more interested in tourist boats than they are in the well sites.”
According to Forrest Smith, the lead petroleum engineer in the Geologic Resources Division in the National Park Service, the oil and gas industry uses the terms plugged and abandoned for wells that have no economic future. “Normally, a company will come in and put a series of cement plugs throughout the well to seal it off from the surface,” Smith said. “Then they will cut the wellhead off and that well is then considered plugged and abandoned.”
All nine well sites in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve are listed by the National Park Service as orphaned wells. “The term orphaned is any well that the owner is not available—either they’ve gone insolvent or don’t have the financial capacity of plugging or caring for the well,” Smith said. “That’s where we, with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, can help.”
Smith, Bruseth and other National Park Service personnel work with the park, the state oil and gas entity, to lay out the plan to fix the wells and contract with experienced oil field crews to do the work. Once the well has been properly closed, the site can be restored to a naturally functioning ecosystem. “Park ecologists will come in and approve seed mixes for the vegetation we can plant,” Smith said. There are certain times of the year that staff cannot work in order to avoid disturbing any native wildlife. “We have to be aware of mating seasons for birds, nesting seasons for bats, migration seasons for mammals and fish,” he said.
Many of the wells are just below the mudline and a danger to watercraft. “You can see dents and dings on the wellheads from watercraft hitting them,” Smith said. “With a big enough boat, you could have a release from the well itself if it is not plugged and that’s the biggest concern for the park right now.”
NPS Photo/ Eric Bruseth
The wells are not only significant physical hazards, but they also leak methane which affects local ecosystems and people. Methane can cause fainting, fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, and memory loss. “Methane is exponentially worse than carbon dioxide when it comes to greenhouse effects,” Smith said. “Through these inspections and the work to close the wells we are doing our part to help mitigate those greenhouse gas issues and make these places safer for everyone.”
While the existence of these abandoned wells has been known for decades, Smith said only now do they have the resources to do the work. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, we can get after nearly 2,000 oil and gas wells in the park system across the country. With the BIL funds, we have been able to get the staff and equipment we need to get these projects done as fast as we can.”
There are additional Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded well reclamation projects upcoming at Big Thicket National Preserve, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Channel Islands National Park. There are still 364 active oil and gas wells in 12 parks of the National Park System.